Vodafone Idea, the country’s third-largest telecom operator, reported a staggering ₹73,878 crore net loss for the fiscal ended March 2020, likely the highest ever by any Indian firm, after it provisioned for Supreme Court-mandated statutory dues.
The firm, which has to pay ₹51,400 crore in adjusted gross revenue dues (AGR) after the apex court ordered the non-telecom revenue be included in calculating statutory dues, said the liability has ‘cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.’
Vodafone Idea‘s quarterly losses widened to ₹11,643.5 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020 compared with the ₹4,882 crore loss in the year-earlier period. Gross revenue declined to ₹11,754 crore (₹11,775 crore).
For the quarter, the underlying operating expenses, excluding licence fee, spectrum usage charges and roaming and access charges stood at ₹2,100 crore lower compared with the year-earlier period.to Q1FY19.
As on March 31, 2020, the company’s gross debt stood at ₹1,15,000 crore, including deferred spectrum payment obligations of ₹87,650 crore.
Due to network issues the company lost a large number of subscribers. The subscriber base in Q4FY20 declined to 291 million from the 304 million in Q3FY20.
Ravinder Takkar, managing director & CEO, Vodafone Idea Ltd., said, “We continue to actively engage with the government seeking a comprehensive relief package for the industry, which faces critical challenges.”
The company said the spead of COVID-19 will have no material impact on its overall performance.
(With PTI inputs)
